Following you will find some tests one can perform on a file to identify its state
Check if file $FILE does not exist
if [ ! -f "$FILE" ]; then
echo "File $FILE does not exist";
fi
Check if file $FILE exists and is a directory
if [ -d "$FILE" ]; then
echo "File $FILE exists and is a directory";
fi
Check if file $FILE exists and is a regular file (not a directory)
if [ -f "$FILE" ]; then
echo "File $FILE exists and is a regular file (not a directory)";
fi
Check if file $FILE exists, we do not know what type it is (if it is a directory, socket, node, etc.)
if [ -e "$FILE" ]; then
echo "File $FILE exists, we do not know what type it is (if it is a directory, socket, node, etc.)";
fi
Check if file $FILE exists and is a symbolic link
if [ -L "$FILE" ]; then
echo "File $FILE exists and is a symbolic link";
fi
Check if file $FILE exists and is a socket
if [ -S "$FILE" ]; then
echo "File $FILE exists and is a socket";
fi
Check if file $FILE exists and is not empty
if [ -s "$FILE" ]; then
echo "File $FILE exists and is not empty";
fi
Check if file $FILE exists and is readable
if [ -r "$FILE" ]; then
echo "File $FILE exists and is readable";
fi
Check if file $FILE exists and is writable
if [ -w "$FILE" ]; then
echo "File $FILE exists and is writable";
fi
Check if file $FILE exists and is executable
if [ -x "$FILE" ]; then
echo "File $FILE exists and is executable";
fi
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